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breaking news here. democratic congressman bart stupak of michigan has decided to retire rather than seek a tenth term. good morning, i'm contessa brewer. stupak's support for the recently enacted health care law was crucial in getting it passed but it led to intense criticism, harassment and even death threats. before he committed to the reform, he had been pressured and harassed by those that supported the health care bill, too. tea party express called for his defeat in rallies in a northern

michigan district even paying for an anti-stupak ad. stupak plans to announce his decision at a 12:30 p.m. news conference at northern michigan university. we will have that on msnbc. luke russert joins me. luke, how big a deal is this for democrats? >> well, contessa, it's a big deal in terms of looking at the makeup for the district. it's one that voted for george w. bush twice, president obama carried it in 2008 but it's a pickup opportunity for republicans. that's why bart stupak got a call from president obama, nancy pelosi, john dingle, also steny hoyer really asking him to stay on for another term. they knew he had the best chance for democrats to hold that seat. that being said, we will expect gop to go at this seat 110%. they will make it number one pickup opportunity.

he said no to nancy pelosi, didn't want to walk the plank again. sources say he really was more burned out than anything. he's a tough and resilient man, a state trooper in michigan, actually injured on the job in 2000. his 17-year-old son committed suicide on mother's day and he still found the courage to go back to congress and work with the fda about a prescription drug his son was on and get it more regulated. he's someone that absolutely dealt with adversity throughout his career. he's not one to back down from a challenge. that being said, he spoke to his family, decided he didn't want to go for another term in 2010. overall, though, the political landscape, contessa, for democrats they were expecting more retirements during this recess period. recess is when people like to make these announcements. for them to only have one is not too bad. that puts the number at 16 democratic retirements in the house, 19 republican. it will be interesting to see who stupak ends up endorsing in his district because the front-runner is a pro-choice democrat by t.

i don't know if he'll get behind her. we'll be watching that. a successful provider of reality tv show like "survivor" and pump my ride. he's the focus of an investigation into his wife's death after her body was discovered in a sewer at a cancun resort where the family was vacationing. beresford-redman was release freddie country but still can't leave the country. let's get the latest from miguel almaguer in burbank. what's the latest? >> reporter: shortly we'll be getting the latest from authorities in mexico who are looking into the investigation. it's in the early stages. we expect them to hold the press conference outside the jail where beresford-redman was detained yesterday. bruce was a popular producer who headed shows like "survivor" and "pump my ride." he was questioned about the

murder of his wife monica. friends say they went to cancun to work on their marriage. on her birthday, police found moni monica's body. they heard her arguing in the room. that's when she was reported missing. after searching for her body they took bruce into custody and have questioned him. they believe she was strangled to death. investigators say it appears bruce had scratches on his neck, contessa. >> sign of asphyxiation, a heavy blow to her right temple. weren't their guests that reported hearing them as well. >> reporter: they checked into the hotel last week. apparently guests had reported hearing arguing and yelling coming from their hotel room. bruce reported his wife monica missing the next day. he last saw her monday when she went shopping. when she didn't return back to her hotel room on tuesday he reported her missing.

of course he was taken into custody yesterday the same day her body was discovered. >> we'll be waiting to hear from those police investigators. miguel, thank you very much. a business yrgs end to the workweek with politics, foreign policy and business news making headlines. right now president obama is returning from prague after yesterday's signing of a nuclear disarmament treaty with russia. critics were taking aim at the deal. former gop vice presidential nominee sarah palin suggests the president's nuclear chance makes the white house look naive. here is president obama's reaction. >> last i checked sarah palin is not much of an expert on nuclear issues. if the secretary of defense and the chairman of the joint chiefs of staff are comfortable with it, i'm probably going to take my advice from them and not sarah palin. >> next week the president holds a nuclear summit but netanyahu won't attend. he didn't want to face questions about his country's long suspected nuclear arsenal, which the jewish state has confused to

confirm or deny. this summer apple will roll out the new iphone which stands to address the criticism. it will allow you to multi-task. ipad users have to wait until fall. frantic search for four men still unaccounted for in mines. the search for four missing miners again had to retreat because of smoke and fire in the mine. >> they are drilling feverishly over the top of the chamber. we want to make sure there's a visual. that won't be done until this afternoon. >> it's very emotional for all the rescuers. we want to get in there. but it's also emotional if something would happen to the rescuers when we know that we have a fire. >> rescuers did reach one of the mine safety chambers but it appears it had not been used.

officials now say crews will not likely be able to go back inside. they will have to use cameras to check out the second chamber. let's get the latest from naoma, west virginia. >> reporter: they are hoping to drop it down a drill hole in the next couple of hours. that should give them the final word on whether any of the four unaccounted for miners managed to survive the initial blast on monday and managed to reach what could have been, what would have been their final sanctuary, a place where they could have survived for about four days. but authorities agree that there is very little chance that happened. now they will not be able to send any rescuers in for the next several hours. at this point, they are trying to pump out conbust i believe gases, they are trying to equalize the atmosphere. rescue workers are hoping to go back in. but at this point back in that area of the mine where that rescue chamber, that final rescue chamber is, there is

smoke indicating there is a fire. right now they cannot risk the lives of these rescue crews, so it will be sometime before they can go back in and even begin the recovery of the miners, the 25 of them who are confirmed dead and the four who are still missing. contessa. >> hopefully when they drop a camera into that hole, as they expect to do later today, we'll be able to get some sign of what rescue crews might find when they go in. thank you. figure skater nancy kerrigan's brothers pled not guilty to a charge in a massachusetts courtroom. he's accused of causing his father's death. he flew into a drunken rage set off by an argument over the family telephone. it was back in january 70-year-old daniel kerrigan was killed. mark kerrigan has been staying at his family's home and his family insists mark is not responsible for the death. sarah palin and congresswoman michelle bachmann, two of the most popular conservative women in politics,

here is an interesting question, are they a little like they will make and louise? a man gets hit by a car moments after getting hit by a bus and it's caught on camera. look at that. i'll talk to him in a few minutes. we welcome signs of an economic recovery. it's a welcome sight unless the signs are high gas prices. they predict gas prices will rise with the summer driving season around the corner, $4 gas may not be far off. a far cry when gas hit $9 a gallon in parts of the uk. it's blamed on rising wholesale cost, more government tax hikes. . (general) omnaris works differently than many other allergy medications. omnaris fights nasal allergy symptoms that occur from allergic inflammation... relieve those symptoms with omnaris. side effects may include headache, nosebleed and sore throat. her nose is at ease. we have lift off. (general) remember omnaris! ask your doctor. in the battle against nasal allergy symptoms,

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they are not looking for your votes but they hope to help raise some money. president obama and the first lady will appear on "american idol."

fox says the first couple will join the two-hour charity special called idol gives back. the obamas taped the segment and it airs next week. the special has already raise $140 million. unbelievable survivor story. a regular guy heading home from work in february. he just got off the city bus, walked behind the bus to cross the street and was violently hit. you can see right there. hit by that car. suffered multiple injuries, fractured bones, head trauma, was in a medically induced comma for five days. two months later he's out of the hospital. sean and his attorney join me now. shaun, when you watch that video, what's the impact seeing your body flip end over end. >> it's unbelievable. it's kind of hard to watch. it's hard to take all that stuff in. >> so when you came to, were you

already in the hospital? i know that there's a lot of injuries. there's some memory loss here. what do you remember about waking up? >> i remember getting onto the bus two hours prior to the accident. that's as far as i can remember. >> megan, what was the result? he's in the accident. obviously the driver of that car topped right away. how did things develop from there? >> sure. well, luckily there was a paramedic who was off duty in the opposite lane of traffic. he his bag with him and actually jumped into the lane where shaun was and started an iv immediately. so he was able to secure the scene. he got life flight in and they took him to the hospital from there. >> shaun, do you remember -- i know you don't remember gettingocity bus at that point, but you know the scene since then. explain, if you would, what you've come to think of as the reason why you would have

crossed into traffic. >> well, maybe the sidewalks were closed. i usually get off of the bus and continue down the same side of the street for a little bit and wait until i get directly across the street from my house before i cross the street. there's a lot of guys doing roadwork on the sidewalk. maybe i was thinking to try to get out of the way. there really wasn't a sidewalk to walk on there. >> it was an extremely dangerous stop. did police say, megan, who was at fault here? >> the police have issued a report. however, you know, i haven't seen it. i think there was some fault put on shaun. it really doesn't matter in florida. the accident report does not come into evidence. you know, i think there's going to be considerable liability on the jta bus given that the sidewalk was closed. he no safe haven. he was basically let off the bus in an area where he had nowhere to go other than the roadway.

>> tell me about your injuries and what you expect to happen in the future. >> i have a compound fracture from my knee into my ankle and that is healing. i'm in a wheelchair for three months for that. my t 11 spinal cord is crushed. i'll have wear the brace for six months or a year. my collar bone is healing nicely. it was fractured. my brain is doing well. it was swollen, concussion and it's healed up pretty nicely. >> i think you could safely describe this as a miracle, the fact you're sitting here across from me being able to talk and do an interview about what we saw happen to you. so shaun, i'm wishing you the best of luck in your recovery. appreciate you coming in. >> thank you. >> i would fully agree with you on that, the miracle part. >> absolutely. hundreds of workers walked off the job in denmark because they can only drink beer at lunch. used to be a right to drink whenever you wanted to on the job, as long as you were working

for the company carlsberg, which makes beer. beer coolers all over the office. the only rule was you couldn't get drunk. not anymore. on april 1st, april fool's day, go figure, workers were told they could only drink beer on their lunch breaks. [ female announcer ] the latest athletic fabrics inspired stayfree® to create thermocontrol™. designed with the comfort of athletic fabrics in mind, stayfree® with thermocontrol™ quickly wicks moisture away for exceptional dryness. thermocontrol™ only from stayfree®. ♪

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which could make your second act better than your first. merrill lynch wealth management. find out what your feelings are and did you learn anything. >> yes. he learned that porn stars are not trustworthy confidantes. >> tiger woods taking a giant step pug the sex scandal behind him with the best first day showing at the masters. bruce beck has the story. >> on the tee, tiger woods. [ applause ] >> reporter: and with that, tiger woods' 144 self-imposed

exile was over. competing in his 16th masters, the four-time champion showed flashes of his old self. >> spectacular shot. >> reporter: there were also glimpses of anger that woods promised would disappear. when all was said and done, his 68 just happened to be the lowest opening day score of his career at the masters. and it put him in a tie for seventh place just two shots out of the lead. not bad considering he hadn't played competitive golf in nearly five months. >> it was -- it felt normal. it was incredible all day, from the time i went to the putting green to putt, the range and back to the putting green off to the first tee and pretty much all day. >> reporter: disapproval came in the form of a small plane with a stein that said, tiger, did you mean bootyism, an obvious play

on his comment on buddhism. the gallery, how did they react to his return to golf. how did they feel about seeing him back on the links. >> has he a lot to prove president the audience was behind him, a lot of cheers. there was very little negative talk at all in the gallery. there are new developments in the massachusetts bullying case, 15-year-old phoebe prince committed suicide after being bullied at school for months. six teens charged in the death must report to police today. a disturbing case. the agonizing last days of phoebe prince. nbc's jeff rozen has more. >> this is our first glimpse at one of the alleged bullies, the so-called mean girls of south hadley high. >> is there anything you'd lying to say to phoebe's family? >> is there anything you'd like to say to the family.

>> no comment. >> sharon showed up, they all pled not guilty accused of bullying her to death. phoebe hanged herself at home to escape the torment at school. in new papers, new details of phoebe's torturous. for months they called her a stupid sp stupid expletive, a whore, screamed at her. they were jealous of phoebe because she dated two boys they liked, one of them the star football players. those boys are now charged with statutory rape. the mean girls allegedly told phoebe stay away from people's men. it was so blatant, everybody knew. >> what did they call her?

a slut an irish whore. >> reporter: hours before she committed suicide they confronted her in the school libraries yelling, close your legs. i hate stupid sluts. >> phoebe prince took her life. the next teen charged in her death will be arraigned later this month. the storm in rio de janeiro now gone, but effects still felt. the normally calm shores are battered by giant waves. even though authorities are warning people to stay out of the water, dozens of surfers went in anyway as they always do. these are the biggest waves to hit the beaches in years. we have video from palm beach county, florida. hundreds of black creatures swimming in circles, those are shark. they captured the video off singer islands. they thing they are spinner and

reef sharks. it's normal to see them in the spring but lifeguards did shut down beaches after a few more aggressive bull sharks spotted. the world's talles dogs has big fans in a group of kindergartens. a girl wrote to the owner begging them to bring this 245 pound, 43 inch tall dog for a visit. yesterday he showed up. trying to persuade congressman stupak to return for another term. he's calling it quits. we'll give you details in three minutes. ♪

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support health care reform had drawn some major criticism from opponents of the recently enacted law. n in fact, the tea party called for stupak's defeat this week. the bomb scare from d.c. to denver, the diplomat was called by his country. it's not clear whether he's left the country. the astronauts completed the first of three space walks to replace an ammonia tank. willie geist joins me from the masters at augusta national. willie, talk about the day we saw in golf yesterday and how it's kicking off today. >> reporter: well, it's pretty windy as you can see and a little chillier. we got the rain yesterday afternoon, really cooled things off by 10, 15 degrees. tiger woods is set to tee off about 10 minutes from now. yesterday an incredible comeback. he shot a four under 68. it's only two shots back from

the leader fred couples already out on the course. if tiger was distracted by the controversy over the last four months it was not evident. he walked up to the tee, bombed his first shot down the middle and he was on from there. there were some overhead distractions, though. perhaps he didn't see them. one talking about him perhaps being a bootyist instead of a buddhist. one said, tiger, you're a sex addict. right, me, too. all the heckling coming from the sky. nobody inside the ropes giving tiger a hard time. after tiger finished his round he addressed the nike ad we've been talking about yesterday. the one where we hear the voice of his deceased father. some thought it was a crass commercial move to use his dad to sell sneakers. >> i think it's apropos. i think that's what my dad would say.

it's amazing how it -- how my dad can speak to me from different ways even when he's long gone. he's still helping me. i think any son who has lost a father, who they miss so much in their life, i think they would understand the spot. >> reporter: so contessa, no apologies from tiger woods yesterday about that nike ad. again, he'll be teeing off in six or seven minutes from right now. >> by the way, on any normal masters tournament, wouldn't be the big headline be you have two old guys on the top of the leaderboard after day one? >> reporter: i'm glad you brought that up, fred couples, 50 years old. he's having a great season on the senior tour. that's where he's having a great season. already out to the lead here. and 60-year-old tom watson tied for second place. remember, he almost won the british open last year. people thinking he might have a shot here as well. >> all right. i've got to say i'm not calling 50 years old old, i'm just

saying for golfers, they are old. i don't want the e-mails, willie. >> reporter: that was ageist, contessa, really. >> i'm not an ageist. really, i'm not. michigan congressman bart stupak makes a major decision not to seek another term in congress. major in the wake of the president's health care law. chr luke, let me begin with you, did he feel the pressure? >> he was burned out. congressman stupak really went through a lot during this health care process. he had a lot of friends on the republican side. a lot called him a traitor. a lot on the democratic side said he was a sellout and blocking health care reform. that being said bart stupak is a former state trooper, a weathered soul who has gone through a lot in his life. i mentioned earlier his oldest son committed suicide on mother's day in 2000. he came back and pressured the

fda to strengthen controls about a prescription drug he thought contributed to the suicide. he's not someone that shies away from the fight. that being said, he spoke with his family and sources close to me said he really made a decision that he wasn't necessarily as happy as he was in congress, wasn't enjoying the day to day work and really after 18 years felt he had given his all and had nothing left to prove. he's been there 18 years. calls from nancy pelosi, john dingell, president obama didn't persuade him. he's comfortable in his retirement from what we've heard. >> you bring up an interesting point. you serve a long time, it's a tiring job. what we've seen over this health care now law has contributed to a dramatic rise in death threats. they range from vulgar to serious death threats here. the house speaker nancy pelosi

recently became the best-known target. authorities say a man in fran made dozens of threatening phone calls to her office. chris, granted things have changed now. there are expectations of our representatives to show up at a lot of events. their jobs seem to go from dawn until very late night. has this changed the game, this health care law? >> you know, contessa, i think it's probably raised the stakes a little bit. i think luke is 100% right. stupak allies moved very quickly in the wake of this news to say this is not about the tea party movement targeting him, he's not running from anything. look, as human being, i think, when you're sort of faced with vitriol that he's faced with, when, in fact, he considered retiring several times before in past elections. he considered running for governor earlier this year. he was clearly someone mulling his political future before the health care bill passed. when you have all of that noise going on, it plays some role.

i don't think it made him retire. >> we're getting breaking news. justice john paul stevens is expected now, just getting this in, to retire this morning. luke, give me your reaction here. >> that's an absolutely amazing development. it's going to be interesting to see what route president obama goes for a new nominee. obviously there's some on the back burner from the first go-round he had earlier last year. this is going to be an interesting political fight going into 2010, one i don't think democrats want to have. they want it to be more on the issues. this is a fight, bring out things like abortion, gay marriage thinks of that sort. it will be interesting to see who obama chooses. >> thanks for joining me. let me bring in justice correspondent pete williams. pete, give me the scene about justice john paul stevens retiring this summer. >> reporter: the announcement comes in a very unusual way, a statement by chief justice john roberts which the supreme court has just released.

let me read it to you. associate justice john paul stevens earned the gratitude and admiration of american people for nearly 40 years of distinguished service to the judiciary including 30 years on the supreme court. justice roberts says he has enriched the lives of everyone in the court through his intellect, independence, and warm grace. we've all been blessed to have john as our colleague and wife marianne as our friend. we will miss his presence in our daily work but will take joy in his and his wife's friendship in the days ahead. you know, we had all expected this month would be the month when justice stevens would make his wishes learn. he turns 20 later this month -- sorry, turns 90 on april 20th. that was, we thought, going to be a landmark date for him to make the decision. we thought perhaps we would hear about this at the end of the court's last two weeks of hearing oral argument, which will be starting on april 19th. so we had thought maybe that week or next week.

but this announcement comes out today. so that means that john paul stevens, we assume, will finish out his term at the end of the supreme court term. i guess one question we'll wait to see, we'll probably get a letter that we assume justice stevens has sent to the white house. we'll get that letter later today. that will say the terms of when he's leaving. that's somewhat important, david suter, when he decided to step down from the supreme court last year said his retirement would be effective at the end of the term. most justices when they retire say it will be on the nomination and confirmation of a successor. this can be important if there's ever a problem getting a supreme court justice nominated and confirmed in time for the new term to start the first monday in october. this is the official announcement that john paul stevens intends to step down after more than 34 years. he is the oldest justice on the

court. he is the longest serving justice. he is the only appointee of gerald ford on the supreme court. one interesting point here. he is the court's only protestant. the other members of the court, there are six catholics, the other two justices are jewish. so the question is, will the president feel constrained to nominate someone who is a protestant, will that play a role in the president's decision on who to nominate as a potential successor. this does not catch the white house off-guard. they certainly have been anticipating this is a possibility. people in the white house counsel's office have looked at potential nominees the president can look at. of course the president went through this last year when they finally chose sonia sotomayer to replace suter. they have a list of potentials. we've been talking about those,

former dean of the harvard law school, diane dean and a federal judge here in washington, d.c. both of them court of appeals judges. one question will be might the president want to choose someone who does not come from the traditional route to the supreme court at least in the last decade or so from the courts of appeals. will he look at someone with political experience. that might mean janet napolitano, the former governor of arizona, now secretary of homeland security, jennifer granholm, governor of michigan. someone from that route. so this does, as luke says, put a new mission on the president's plate. it ends an era in the supreme court, because john paul stevens was not only the oldest justice and the most senior of the associate justices, he was also the head of the court's liberal wing. it was his mission to assign opinions whenever he was in the majority. and he was an excellent

tactician in decision how to bring in other justices to reach the magic five people for a majority opinion, and that is something that the liberal wing of the court will very much miss. i would think one of the things the president will look at in terms of potential nominee, which is who could he find that has those characteristics that could be a potential leader of that wing. so this is a very big deal. this is something we've all been anticipating. i guess the only surprise is that we got it today in this form. >> let me reset for the viewers who may be just joining us now. the breaking news we're following right now is that the oldest members of the supreme court justice john paul stevens is announcing he is retiring. he's the leader of the liberals on the supreme court. and now this sets in motion the job ahead for president obama to find the nominee to replace justice stevens. pete, when you're looking at the makeup of the senate, which has the job of confirming the president's choice, you have 59

democrats. the republicans obviously have not ruled out trying to delay confirmation at this point. how have the republicans cooperated with the democrats just on confirming federal judges at this point? >> well, there's a big fight going on for the confirmation of a federal judge right now in the senate judiciary committee, gordon lue nominated for the fourth circuit. they are mired down in that. the level tends to be different for supreme court justices because there's so much at stake and only nine of them. having a vacancy on the supreme court is something everybody wants to avoid. in the past the republicans have always said they would not filibuster the president's supreme court nomination. we have heard that from a few members this time around but i guess that's one thing that is always a possibility although that's very risky for the party who is out of control of the white house to filibuster a

president's supreme court choice. i guess then it depends on who the nominee is. frankly some of the conservative groups that i've talked to in the last couple of weeks, i think the feeling is the president probably would get his nominee confirmed but there would be a considerable fight. i can't think of a nominee, among those i've mentioned, that i think the senate would probably block. but again, it just depends on who the nominee is. i think you have to assume the republicans won't try to filibuster. >> let me go through the big cases where stevens may have been instrumental in swinging the key swing votes his way. apparently he drew the support of the swing votes from sandra day o'connor in the bush administration included suspension of suspected terrorist following september 11th attacks and tilt towards protecting businesses from lawsuits, its refusal to act against global warming. did he really act as a meetiagn

liberal magnet on that side of the court. >> part of this is complicated. to some extent this is vote counting. whoever the president nominates will have the same kind of vote on the supreme court that justice stevens did. so justice stevens has tended in his later years on the court to be in the court's liberal wing, even though he was originally appointed by a republican president gerald ford and tended to be somewhat of a maverick independent or conservative justice in his early years on the court. in his later years certainly he's been solidly in the liberal wing. whoever the president, this president, a democrat president nominates will undoubtedly vote in similar ways. we're not going to see a fundamental shift in the court's ideological makeup. when you're talking about the leadership of a justice, the ability to form alliances, that is a trickier proposition. it takes somebody who has been on the court for a long time to have that ability.

but whether someone else on the court would have come out differently in the guantanamo bay basis i doubt. >> hang with me, let me bring in diane, who clerked for justice stevens. what's your reaction to the fact that now the justice for whom you served is now retiring? >> well, i think that we should be honored that he served us for long on the court. i believe this is his 35th term on the supreme court. it certainly marks the passing of an era. he who been an undisputed leader of the court certainly in the last 10 or 15 years. i think that his departure will, for that reason alone, change the way the court does its business. >> what was he like as a boss? >> the best one you could ever

have. he is -- when he was nominated to the seventh circuit, a lawyer's lawyer, when he was nominated to the supreme court, senator percy called him a judge's judge. i would call him a gentle person's gentle person. incredibly civil, never raised his voice. if you needed help, he was the first one literally to roll up his sleeves and help you sort something out. >> diane, if you will, stay with me. let me go back to pete williams, our justice correspondent. pete, what do you have? pete, are you there? >> reporter: sorry, yes. let me just show you the letter that justice stevens has sent to the president. here it is. i'll read it to you. it says, "dear mr. president, having concluded it would be in the best interest of the court to have my successor appointed and confirmed well in advance of the commencement of the court's next term, i shall retire from regular active service as associate justice, then he cites

relevant law, effective the next day after the court rises for the summer recess this year. and it's signed john paul stevens. what that means is he is going to leave the court at the end of this term. we were talking about this a bit early. what he does not say here is that he will stay on the court until his successor is nominated and confirmed, that he's leaving service as soon as the court term ends, which would be usually in late june. so that differences -- that basically gives the senate and president until october 1st to find a successor. that means he'll leave the court at the end of the term. you know, justices vary on how they choose to do this. some of them say they will stay until a successor is confirmed. some like suter did last year will leave as soon as it's over. >> let me bring diane back in, clec for supreme court justice -- sorry, say that

again? a law professor is joining me now. the news we're following here, supreme court justice john paul stevens announcing his retirement at the end of this current term in the supreme court, that's supposed to happen sometime this summer. paul, what does a justice need in whoever the president nominates, whoever the senate confirms, what kind of qualities do they need to effectively replace justice john paul stevens? >> the thing the public notices most about john paul stevens is he is holding up the liberal wing of the court. that means that generally justices who are in favor of strong affirmative action, in favor of strong individual rights generally will protect, for example, criminal defendants and make sure they have their rights against police and against the state.

and a justice of a similar stripe will most probably be appointed by the obama administration, because those are the ideals of the obama administration. so the retirement of john paul stevens will not noticeably change the ballot court. it would not be the cataclysmic change it might have been had he retired under the bush administration or under a republican administration. he is a key vote on these kind of matters that i mentioned. and had he been replaced by someone not liberal like himself under the bush administration or a republican administration that would drastically way the court

decides cases. >> pete was just pointing out to me that here was john paul stevens. he was actually nominated by a republican president, gerald ford. perhaps metamorphosis is too strong a word. but how do you see justices who go in and the expectation is they are going to take one sort of philosophical stand, and then their stand ends up being very different. >> well, in his case, he did not fulfill that particular expectation that he would be conservative or republican leaning. but in other cases the justices do sometimes fulfill what they see when they are appointed. sometimes they change. sometimes they change early. sometimes they change late in their career. a notable example of a justice who is living up to expectations and has not changed stripes is the current chief justice john roberts, who was appointed to be

very conservative and has turned out to be that way. >> all right. paul rothstein, who is a law professor at georgetown university. professor rothstein, good of you to join us and share your expertise. i want to bring in on the right side ben ferguson with icon radio network. ben, let me begin with you. give me your reaction to john paul stevens retiring and how will that shape the debate this summer. >> this going to be a partisan issue. you have a very liberal justice. many are going to say, look, we want someone very flamboyant, outspoken to protect that side of the court for us. barack obama is going to be in an awkward situation. do you want a midterm fight, conservatives can capitalize, look how extreme barack obama is, how he's trying to get liberal juns on the court. this is why you need to vote for

is. this could be a huge fight politically, special p especially going from 59 to 60 in the senate. >> there's a danger for republicans here, too. would you care to characterize it? >> i agree with my friend here that politics are huge, especially when you look at the time line. early november is the election. early october is the beginning of the term. end of this term is when the justice retires. you're really talking about august september when all of this is going down. august, all the senators are going to be back home. it's the recess. so let's get straight. this september. we're talking about september. one month period give or take you're going to have a confirmation battle going on in the senate judiciary committee, chairman leahy calling the shot and ranking member hatch leading the charge for the republicans. the question i have is this, are the republicans coming on the heels of defeat in health care reform, are they going to want to look like again defeatist and

negatives and just say no types or like they are going to help. >> conservatives are going to use this -- >> ben, ben, ben -- >> yeah. >> when we're talking about what happens with republicans, certainly the health care debate changed things. we saw tools engaged in congress that haven't been used for legislation this big, this comprehensive. now we're seeing the reactions being death threats, major pressure. we have bart stupak today in a little more than two hours announcing -- or a little less than two hours making the official announcement he's retiring from congress. you have republicans really aiming to take back over congress today. they are going to -- are republicans going to be able to stand up and be obstructionists here when it comes to nominating a supreme court justice, or will you see a return to cooperation? >> look, i don't think -- it's not an issue of cooperation. you had the back room deals and shadiness of health care. the republicans may have lost the battle but i think they won the war.

look at the president's approval rating. look at obstructionists saying we disagree. i think republicans are going to come out whoever the president picks and very bluntly say this is why you need to vote for us. it's going to show the transparency between the two for sure. >> ben, david, hold on. let me bring in "washington post" jonathan capehart, msnbc contributor as well. jonathan, the news that we're following today, the retirement of justice john paul stevens. of course if he's going to leave the court at the end of the term this summer, which is what he told president obama he's going to do, it leaves a period of time for the president and for the senate to get forward with confirming a new replacement. how do you see that shaking out? >> i think david is absolutely right and i'll get to that in a second. in terms of the time line, yes, we could see all this go down in september. it's not like the president and the white house did not see this

coming when obama was inaugurated we were talking about the potential of three or maybe even four potential nominations to the supreme court. now this the second one. they have already gone through a whole batch of people who ended up -- justice sotomayer ended up being the person who got that. we're now hearing the same names again. so i don't see how this is going to be the big ideological fight, especially as pete williams said, this is not -- you don't expect a change in the ideological shift of the court in this selection. now, why is david right? because if the republican party and republicans want to continue down this road of being the party of no and obstructionists, then by all means go for it, because it will be something that the white house and the democrats can run again the republicans. you know, newt gingrich yesterday at the southern republican leadership conference i think said the right thing,

you've got to get -- we have to become the party of yes he said to fellow republicans there. you can't get to yes if you're going to say no consistently to everything the white house administration is trying to do. >> don't you think some republicans feel like they have gotten more mileage out of saying no than saying yes? >> in the short-term political analysis, yes. in the short-term it's terrific for them but in the long-term it's bad for the party. they can continue down this road if the republican party wants to remain a regional reactionary party. >> all right. when we're talking about the time line here, david was pointing out that congress goes on recess in august. the term, supreme court term, ends probably june or july, depending when they wrap things up. does that really leave only september to try and get this work done of confirming a replacement on the supreme court. >> depends whether the senate wants to come back into session and get the person confirmed.

again, we don't know who the president might confirm. two, we don't know when the announcement might come. we need to figure out, one, when is the president going to make the announcement, who it is, then we'll be able to work backwards or forwards, if you will, to figure out how much time the white house and all of us have to delve into the person's background, look at their former -- their decisions and stuff like that. >> some of that work may have been done before sonia sotomayer became the white house nominee to be on the supreme court. potential nominee, former head of harvard schools former appeals judges. apparently they were interviewed by the president before he nominated sotomayer. some of that groundwork may have been done if that's who he ends

up choosing. >> when i was saying we get to delve into their decisions, i was thinking us, the media and the american people might be hearing about this person for the first time. we might know about them but for a lot of the american people, we don't know who they are. >> there's one thing i want to point out about elana. she's been confirmed. puts republican in a box, you voted for her once to be solicitor general, now are you going to switch the vote and flip-flop on the same person. that raises attractiveness. >> if luke russert is right, this is the last thing the white house wants, to get into a fight with republicans over the supreme court nominee, you would

go with elena kagan for the reasons he just outlined. she's been confirmed by the senate. folks know her, know everything about her. to then vote against her would put them on the spot. >> let me bring in now professor jonathan turley, a well-known author and law professor, constitutional law. justice john paul stevens announcing he's retiring. he sent the letter to president obama saying the last day will be after the current supreme court session ends. give me a sense of what the departure means for the supreme court. >> for liberals this is the loss of the last liberal icon. he served wh